William Hichens
Captain William Hichens (died 2 October 1944) was an English colonial administrator and Swahili historian who investigated several cryptids in East Africa before the field of cryptozoology was developed. He had personal encounters with two cryptids. The first of these was in the 1920's, during an official lion hunt in Tanganyika, when he briefly observed two hairy men walking upright across a forest clearing. His guide identified them as agogwe:Hichens, William, "African Mystery Beasts" Discovery 18 (1937) In 1925 Captain Hichens was sent out to investigate depredations made by the Nandi bear in a village in the Kenya Colony. The latest victim was a 6-year-old girl, snatched after the monster forced its way through an 8-foot zareba. During the night his tent was attacked by something which gave a terrifying roar and carried off his pet dog: Hichens followed the tracks and spent a week in the forest searching for the animal, but never found it or his dog. He later described several other sightings of the Nandi bear, and gave a detailed description of its habits. He also wrote that "some of us who have hunted the brute share the view that it may be an anthropoid," anticipating Bernard Heuvelmans' theory of the Nandi bear as a giant baboon. He also reported the mngwa (which carried out attacks whilst Hichens was the magistrate of Lindi in Tanganyika; he personally saw its victims and interviewed eyewitnesses), the crowing crested cobra, the irizima, the isiququmadevu, the khodumodumo, the chipekwe (which he suggested may be a chalicothere), the ndalawo, the lau, the lukwata, the mlularuka, and shapeshifters. He wrote under the pseudonym of "Fulahn" after his first writings on unknown African animals were attacked. Selected bibliography *Fulahn (1927), "On the Trail of the Brontosaurus: Encounters with Africa's Mystery Animals", Chambers's Journal (London: W. & R. Chambers) 7 (17): 692-695 *Fulahn (November 1927), "The Savage As Scientist", The Golden Book (31): 611-617 *Fulahn (1928), "The Dragon Who Devoured the World: An African Folk-Tale translated from the Kiniramba Language", The English Review (London: Duckworth & Company) 47: 87-?? *Fulahn (1929), "The Savage Bloods His Spear", Blackwood's Magazine (Edinburgh: William Blackwood) 226: 120-13? *Hichens, W. (1929), "Africa's Mystery Beasts", Wide World Magazine (London: G. Newness): 171-17? *Fulahn (1930), "The Black Man's Gods", The Fortnightly Review (London: Chapman and Hall) 133: 500-51? *Hichens, William (January 1931), "Waylaying the Witchdoctor", The Fortnightly Review (London: Chapman and Hall) 135 (769): 93-99 *Fulahn (1933), "From Strange Places", Blackwood's Magazine (Edinburgh: William Blackwood): 135-139 *Hichens, W. (1936), "Demon Dances in E. Africa", Discovery: The Popular Journal of Knowledge (London: Mercury House) 17 *Hichens, W. (December 1937), "African Mystery Beasts", Discovery: The Popular Journal of Knowledge (London: Mercury House) 18 (216): 369-373 *Hichens, William (1938), "Lizard-Men of the Kidau", Chambers's Journal (London: W. & R. Chambers): 81-?? *Hichens, W. (November 1938), "The Leopards of Mbwongo", Wide World Magazine (London: G. Newness) 82 (488): 126-13? *Hichens, W., "The Lion Men of Usure", Wide World Magazine (London: G. Newness) Notes and references Hichens, William Hichens, William